Week 9 Class 1A League Breakdown
The Final Week of the regular season and the final chance for teams to make their case for the playoffs. A win or a loss in the final game could determine your spot in the playoffs.
Foothills League
The Foothills League Champion will be crowned this week when #1 Bennett faces Platte Canyon. Platte Canyon last week lost in a shootout with Clear Creek 42-62. That was Platte Canyon first loss of the season and their defense really struggled stopping the pass at Clear Creek had a great day of offense. Platte Canyon now faces a different kind of offense this week but still very dynamic. Platte Canyon did show some capabilities of scoring themselves breaking the 40-point mark. Platte Canyon will need their defensive showing this week. #1 Bennett has steamrolled everyone team this year. They have had two close games against Strasburg 24-7 and Burlington 50-38. Bennett can lock up back to back league titles with a win this week and probably the #1 overall seed. They will need to play outstanding run defense and if they can stop Platte Canyon rushing attack they can sail to the win. Bennett offensively is led by their senior QB/RB Rocky Lechman who has 355 yards passing and 3 TDs and has 1441 yards rushing and 21 TDs. He is a player of the year candidate and one of the more explosive runners in 1A. I have Bennett grabbing their second consecutive league title 42-14. Other league games this week feature Vail Christian at Manual, which is a must win for Manual if they want any chance at the playoffs. The last league game is Clear Creek at Front Range and Clear Creek should cruise to the win and possibly one of the remaining home games.
Playoff Discussion
The Foothills league currently has 4 teams fighting to make the playoffs. Bennett and Clear Creek are clear locks to make the playoffs. Platte Canyon and Manual are the two teams fighting for a spot in the playoffs. Platte Canyon has a very difficult game this week. Currently #9 in the RPI and with a low OWP they will benefit from playing Bennett in the final week win or lose. If Platte Canyon loses their RPI could drop around .585 to .590 which will be good enough to make the playoffs. Manual on the other hand must win their game against Vail Christian but even then, I am not sure if that will be enough to move them into the playoffs. If Manual wins their RPI could move into the .475 to .485 range which will not be enough to make the playoffs. I see the Foothills league getting 3 teams into the playoffs.
#1 Bennett vs Platte Canyon Vail Christian at Manual
Clear Creek at Front Range Christian
RPI: #1 Bennett, #6 Clear Creek, #9 Platte Canyon, #20 Manual, #29 Vail Christian, #35 Front Range Christian
North Central League
Two very important games take place in the North Central league. The first is Yuma at Wray. Yuma is 3-5 overall and 2-2 in league. Currently they sit at #18 in the RPI and their game with Wray will eliminate one team from the playoffs and the other has a chance at making it into the playoffs. Yuma has had a much better season this year and one win could give them a shot at the playoffs. Wray also has improved from last year. They like Yuma are right outside the RPI top 16 at #17. The winner of the Yuma vs Wray game will be which team can control the line of scrimmage. I am going with Wray to win and have a shot at the playoffs 28-14. The other important game is for the league title. #5 Limon travels to face #9 Burlington. Burlington is 6-2 on the year and perfect in league. Both of Burlington’s losses have come against Top 5 teams, #3 Strasburg & #1 Bennett. Burlington last week blew past Wiggins 54-6. Burlington is a run first team and have 1874 yards rushing and their offense is led by junior Kaden Meurisse 662 yards rushing and 9 TDs. #5 Limon has 1 loss to Strasburg 14-12 and a two-point conversion cost them. Last week Limon blanked Yuma 31-0 and Limon is looking for another league title. Limon is one of the better running offenses and keep you honest with their passing attack. Limon has 2021 yards rushing and are led by junior Hank Hubbard 817 yards rushing and 10 TDs. Limon will have to play great defense against a very good Burlington team. The winner will come down to whose defense plays better. I am going with Limon in a very good game 28-21. The final league game is between Holyoke and Wiggins. Both teams are eliminated from making the playoffs so building for next year is a big key.
Playoff Discussion
Limon and Burlington are locks are the playoffs. Burlington with a loss to Limon could slide a few spots in the RPI but are a solid lock. The two teams battling for playoffs spots play each other and the loser is eliminated from the playoffs. If Wray wins their RPI could move into the .535 to .545 range and all I can say is Olathe is very close in the RPI and both the winner between Wray/Yuma and Olathe will be cheering for Peyton. The three teams fighting for the final spot are Wray/Yuma, Olathe, and if CSCS loses CSCS will be in the mix as well. Yuma if they win will move into the .525 to .535 range and would be in the mix for the final spot and like Wray are cheering for Peyton this week. I do think that the North Central will get 3 teams into the playoffs if Wray wins and Peyton wins.
#5 Limon at #9 Burlington Yuma at Wray
Holyoke at Wiggins
RPI: #5 Limon, #10 Burlington, #17 Wray, #18 Yuma, #26 Holyoke, #30 Wiggins
Northern League
The Northern League Champion is Strasburg and they clinched it with a win over Cornerstone Christian last week 66 to 28. Strasburg is looking at a Top 4 seed in the playoffs. Highland and Cornerstone Christian are both in the hunt for a playoff spot. Highland must win their final game against Byers and if they win their RPI could move to .570 to .575 and be enough to get into the playoffs. Same goes for Cornerstone Christian if they win their RPI could move to .560 to .570 and get into the playoffs unless Buena Vista wins the Tri-Peaks League title then things get very complicated. (See the Tri-Peaks for more information) In all the Northern League will get 3 teams into the playoffs.
#3 Strasburg at Lyons Byers at Highland
Estes Park at Cornerstone Christian
RPI: #3 Strasburg, #13 Highland, #14 Cornerstone Christian, #33 Byers, #34 Lyons, #37 Estes Park
Southern Peaks League
The Southern Peaks League Champion has been decided and that is Centauri. They are a lock for a Top 4 seed and of course a home game. Monte Vista is the only other team with a shot at the playoffs. They host Dolores this week and must win to secure their playoff spot. If Monte Vista wins their RPI could move into the .590 to .595 and would be close for a #10 or #11 seed. Monte Vista must focus and take care of business this week. The Southern Peaks League will get 2 teams into the playoffs.
#4 Centauri vs John Mall (FFW for Centauri) #10 Monte Vista vs Dolores
RPI: #4 Centauri, #11 Monte Vista, #25 Dolores, #27 Ignacio, #38 John Mall
Santa Fe League
The Santa Fe League has their league Champion and that is Crowley County. They locked up the league title two weeks ago and are now looking to improve their seed. Currently they would be the #7 seed and at most I could see them move to #6. Crowley County hosts Trinidad in their final game of the season. The other big-league game features Ellicott at Rocky Ford. The winner of this game has a small shot at the playoffs but both teams will come up with an RPI around the .505 to .510 range. Their RPI is just a little too low so I only have the Santa Fe League getting 1 team into the playoffs.
#7 Crowley County vs Trinidad Ellicott at Rocky Ford
RPI: #8 Crowley County, #22 Rocky Ford, #24 Ellicott, #36 Trinidad, #40 Dolores Huerta
Tri-Peaks League
What a race the Tri-Peaks league has turned into and the conclusion of this great league race ends this week. #8 Peyton beat Buena Vista 34 to 28 in double OT and kept their shot at a league title alive. Buena Vista now must hope Peyton gets upset by CSCS and would create a three-way tie for first. Coloradopreps.com has an update on the Tie-Breaker and I will post at the end of the Tri-Peaks breakdown. The implications are huge if Peyton is upset. Peyton with a victory locks up the league title and the home game. They would be looking at the #8 seed for the playoffs. If Peyton wins it would be back to back league championships for them. CSCS lost an incredible senior class and have remained in the league title race thanks to their defense. CSCS beat Lake County 42-8 last week and kept their shot at a league title alive. They cannot win the league title outright due to a losing to Buena Vista a few weeks ago by 9. This league title means a ton for 8 teams in 1A. If Peyton wins everything is simple, Peyton gets the league title and the #8 spot in the playoffs. The winner between Wray/Yuma, CSCS, and Olathe battle for the final spot in the playoffs. Which would be extremely close as those 4 teams will be separated by less than .010. If CSCS upsets Peyton a three-way tie occurs. I have not seen how the Tie-Breaker works but some interesting scenarios work out. If CSCS wins the Tri-Peaks league title they get the #8 spot in the playoffs and Peyton gets the #16 spot into the playoffs as their RPI is .025 ahead of Wray/Yuma and Olathe. Now the most interesting scenario is if Buena Vista wins the league title. If Buena Vista wins the league title their RPI would not move into the Top 16 and a home game is not guaranteed and more than likely Paonia would snag the #8 spot. Buena Vista would grab the #16 spot into the playoffs and Peyton, CSCS, Cornerstone Christian and Hotchkiss would battle for the #14 & #15 spot. All three of those teams could be separated by less than .007. I will be looking for score updates on the league title game through the night because of how big this game is.
TIEBREAKER: The conference tiebreaker is a point system that is based on the number of points scored and allowed in games involving the top three teams. Winning teams also gain one additional point. Buena Vista is currently at 17 points and cannot change since the Demons have already played the other clubs. Peyton has 8 points and Colorado Springs Christian 5. (All credit to Coloradopreps.com for finding this information out)
#8 Peyton at Colorado Springs Christian Buena Vista at Rye
Lake County at St. Mary’s
RPI: #12 Peyton, #16 Colorado Springs Christian, #21 Buena Vista, #31 Rye, #32 Lake County, #39 St. Mary’s
Western Slope League
The Western Slope League champion has already been decided. Meeker is your league champion in back to back season. They locked it up with a 31-14 victory over Paonia last week. Meeker this week hosts Olathe and is a very important game. Meeker would love to win this game and keep a Top 3 seed. They would like to be on the other side of Bennett. Meeker has played amazing defense all year and for the first time gave up more than 10 points in a game. Meeker should win this game against Olathe but Olathe is hungry and would love an upset to get themselves into the playoffs. If Olathe wins they get into the playoffs but if Olathe loses their RPI is in the .530 to .540 range. They are battling for the final spot with Wray/Yuma and CSCS. The separation between the final 3 teams is at the biggest .010. Everything comes down to OOWP to determine the final spot. Also teams you played against this season you must be cheering for because every game matters for the final 4 teams. I am going with Meeker to beat Olathe 31-7. Paonia is a lock for the playoffs and should grab a win over Grand Valley this week. They are trailing Clear Creek for the extra home game and I think are too far behind to snag it. Paonia is looking at the #9 or #10 seed and will be a threat in the playoffs. The final league game is Hotchkiss at Cedaredge. Hotchkiss must win this game to have a shot at the playoffs. If Hotchkiss loses they would drop to around .515 to .520 and would be out of the playoffs. If Hotchkiss wins they would be a near lock for the playoffs barring Buena Vista winning the Tri-Peaks. (Look at the Tri-Peaks for more information). The Western Slope I see 3 teams getting in unless Wray loses to Yuma then 4 teams as Olathe would be higher than Yuma and CSCS.
#2 Meeker vs Olathe #6 Paonia at Grand Valley
Hotchkiss at Cedaredge
RPI: #2 Meeker, #7 Paonia, #15 Hotchkiss, #19 Olathe, #23 Cedaredge, #28 Grand Valley
MileHigh Prep Report Playoff Team Predictions
These are the 16 teams I think will make the playoffs. They are in order by league and not seed.
Foothills League
Bennett, Clear Creek, Platte Canyon
North Central League
Limon, Burlington, Wray
Northern League
Strasburg, Highland, Cornerstone Christian
Southern Peaks League
Centauri, Monte Vista
Santa Fe
Crowley County
Tri-Peaks
Peyton
Western Slope
Meeker, Paonia, Hotchkiss
MileHigh Prep Report 